Diversity & Inclusion

Fundamental Way of Thinking

DISCO VALUES and Governance

DISCO's fundamental way of thinking about diversity is stipulated in DISCO VALUES Management Guidelines, and states that "DISCO does not discriminate or evaluate employees based on personal attributes such as biological sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, nationality, race, religion, or educational background." The original statement established in 2002, "When evaluating an employee, DISCO does not consider personal attributions such as gender, age, nationality, race, religion or educational background," was later revised in 2022 in accordance with the changing society and necessity to do so. In addition, one of the ideal states that DISCO wishes to achieve by 2030 is "To have a corporate culture in which diversity is mutually recognized and incorporated" as stipulated in DISCO VISION 2030. In order to achieve this state, the company has set a tracking index of "100% attendance in company education seminars regarding diversity," and it is mandatory for all employees of the DISCO Group (full-time employees, specified-task employees, dispatch employees, incoming transfer employees, etc.) to take a diversity education seminar once a year. The Employee Satisfaction (ES) survey also has multiple questions regarding diversity, such as whether the employee is experiencing discrimination because of gender, age, nationality, race, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, etc., and these are answered using a 1-to-5 rating scale, upon which the total results are reported to the ES Committee made up of Executive Officers.

■Chart ES (Employee Satisfaction) survey total results (FY 2024)
The ratio of affirmative answers for each question regarding diversity is as below.

Utilizing Diversity as a Strategic Extension

Since entering the semiconductor industry 50 years ago, the DISCO has developed a global business presence and fostered a corporate culture that naturally embraces a diverse workforce through practical engagement with a wide range of customers. In particular, a culture has taken root in which young employees engage in hands-on dialogue with customers and local subsidiaries around the world, resulting in a natural accumulation of understanding and responsiveness to diverse values across the organization.
In addition to the conventional batch hiring of new graduates, the DISCO actively promotes year-round recruitment, hiring of second-year graduates, mid-career employees, and foreign nationals. As a result, there is a diverse range of job types, cultural backgrounds, languages, and career histories within the company.
We also promote the freedom to transfer between departments, enabling employees to explore diverse options and reallocate their capabilities. For example, there has been a case where a foreign employee initially hired as a translator and interpreter deepened their business understanding through their work experience and voluntarily transitioned into a sales role.
Thus, diversity within the DISCO has not been introduced as a formalized system, but has evolved organically as a functional necessity of our business strategy. We regard it as a vital element that contributes to our competitive advantage.
To gain a clearer understanding of the essence of “diversity,” DISCO categorizes it into two distinct types: “inherent diversity,” or factors individuals cannot choose, and “behavioral diversity,” or factors that can be shaped or changed through one’s actions and mindset. The former includes aspects such as nationality, ethnicity, gender, religion, and educational background, which should be accepted and respected from a cultural and systemic standpoint. In contrast, the latter includes qualities such as attitude toward work, integrity, ethical standards, and a certain level of cognitive capability, which are traits that organizations must intentionally select for.
By drawing this distinction, DISCO strives to balance “diversity that should be respected” with “values that must be shared,” thereby going beyond just cultural acceptance to maximize organizational performance. For example, whether or not an individual resonates with fundamental principles such as “DISCO is fair in all its corporate activities” and “work should be done joyfully and abundantly” is crucial when working with DISCO’s unique systems, such as the Personal Will accounting system and PIM (Performance Innovation Management) activities.
Thus, at DISCO, diversity does not mean accepting everything indiscriminately. Rather, we view it as accepting and respecting fundamental diversity while clearly upholding principles of conduct and decision-making standards as an organization. This approach has become organically embedded in our corporate culture and continues to strengthen our competitive advantage.

A Future-Oriented Organization: Diversity × Generative AI

Looking ahead, we aim to maintain and strengthen this “structural diversity” while enhancing our organizational capabilities by integrating generative AI into our operations.
With the emergence of generative AI, it is now possible to transcend physical constraints such as geography, culture, and social standpoint, and virtually consolidate diverse perspectives to make informed management decisions. By utilizing these technological advancements, we believe that individuals will be able to consider multiple viewpoints and logical frameworks in parallel, thereby enabling multifaceted and structured decision-making.
The DISCO redefines diversity not as “assembling people” but as “the ability to fully harness multiple diverse perspectives.” Our goal is to build an organization that leverages not only diversity in human resources, but also diversity in thinking—enabling us to respond flexibly to change and build a resilient intellectual foundation.
DISCO remains committed to pursuing genuine diversity that contributes directly to a sustainable corporate competitiveness, rather than pursuing it merely as a superficial achievement of numerical targets.

Providing Opportunities for Post-Retirement Reemployment

Personnel with extensive experience and technical skills are invaluable to DISCO. Therefore, DISCO has established a reemployment system for employees over the retirement age of 60 who are healthy and wish to continue working.
As an opportunity for employees to think about their post-retirement plans, DISCO provides life plan seminars for employees at the ages of 55 and 58. These seminars provide not only a detailed explanation of the reemployment system, including procedures and work conditions, but also of pension and other support measures available to those who retire upon reaching retirement age.

Support for People with Disabilities

In addition to hiring people with disabilities, DISCO actively holds workplace experience programs for students from special education schools and employment assistance organizations before they enter the company. The FC (Future Challenge) Team, which is a team comprised mainly of employees with disabilities, was established as one of the organizations under DISCO CORPORATION. Through this, DISCO has developed an environment where employees with disabilities are able to work comfortably with support in multiple aspects from dedicated “supporters for people with disabilities.”

Activities of the FC Team

The FC Team was established at Hiroshima Works in 2009 based on the concept, “For employees with disabilities to be able to contribute to Kiru, Kezuru, and Migaku technologies, the core of DISCO group’s business, so they can thrive as members of DISCO.” After joining DISCO, they are assigned tasks that are suitable for each individual employee taking the nature of their disability and aptitude into consideration.
In addition, DISCO provides an environment that is tailored to each individual’s disability, such as tools that can be used with one hand, internally-manufactured automated equipment using which processing can be completed by simply pushing a button, individual booths for working, a specially prepared bus for commuting, etc. With regard to communication, DISCO promotes mutual understanding between employees and the supporters for people with disabilities through methods suited to each individual’s disabilities, such as installing an opinion box at the workplace or utilizing an internally-developed messaging app.
As a member of the local community, DISCO provides lectures to other organizations upon request regarding employing people with disabilities, and exchanges information that has been accumulated through the operation of the FC Team regarding hiring people with disabilities with other organizations.
In 2022, an FC Team was also established at Nagano Works. DISCO will continue to promote the development of a workplace environment in which diverse human resources can thrive.

Assessment System

DISCO believes that the responsibilities and goals expected of employees should be clear and that salaries should be allocated based on impartial assessment acceptable to the person involved and reflecting their abilities and experience.
To make this a reality, the company has established several career tracks with clearly outlined qualifications and roles.

Gender Diversity (Target Ratio of Female Managers)

DISCO's DISCO VALUES states that, "When evaluating an employee, DISCO does not consider personal attributions such as gender, age, nationality, race, religion or educational background," and DISCO values fairness in promotion to management positions and core personnel. In addition, in terms of diversity, we intend to raise the ratio of female managers in the entire DISCO group including domestic and international offices to 17.4% by the end of FY 2030. This target value was set based on the following factors:
- The youngest age among managerial track employees in management positions was identified as of the end of September 2021.
- The ratio of women managerial track employees who are over the above age was set as the target ratio for female managers.

Thinking about one's career at DISCO with experienced senior female employees
In order to make it easier for employees to flexibly handle changes in their life and career path, DISCO carries out seminars comprised of explanations regarding career-related unconscious biases, career introductions and talk sessions from senior employees, and more.

Program for Switching Career Tracks

When an employee first enters the company, they are assigned to the “managerial track,” “technical track,” or “clerical track” based on compatibility, but sometimes they may decide that they would like to switch to a different track at a later date to better reflect their career and life plans. In response to these needs, DISCO has established a “Program for Switching Career Tracks,” which allows employees the flexibility to change their track so that they can find motivation in their work and choose a work style that suits them.

Freedom to Transfer and Internal Recruitment System

At DISCO, employees have the freedom to transfer between departments at their discretion. This freedom is based on the idea that "employees are able to put forth their best effort if they are doing tasks of their choosing within the department of their choosing, which leads to optimal allocation of human resources within the company as a whole.”
To further reinforce this freedom, DISCO has established the internal recruitment program, through which departments looking for new personnel can internally post openings, listing the required experience, skills, and other conditions.
If the employee and their chosen department both agree, the employee is able to transfer to that department, and their current department is not permitted to obstruct the transfer.
In addition, because the Will accounting system facilitates awareness about the effect new personnel may have on department profitability, departments accept new transfers only after serious consideration regarding whether the employee will be a good match.
This system enables not only employee self-fulfillment but also the construction of an even more productive work environment with more even resource distribution and less allocation mismatch within the company as a whole.

Global Challenge System

This system supports employees who wish to work overseas. Through this system, whenever there is a need for human resources at an overseas affiliate, candidates are recruited from within the company.

Flexible Choice of Work Location

This system allows employees to transfer to another office location that better fits their own lifestyle, life stage, and career plan while also preserving their current department affiliation. Through this system, employees are empowered to realize a work style of their choosing, which connects to increased motivation.

Employee Representatives

Every year, the employee representatives of each office who have been elected through a vote of confidence regularly gather employees’ opinions and requests regarding matters such as personnel systems including salary increases, company recreational facilities, and occupational safety and health, and hold dialogues with management to update the company’s labor-management agreement.

Employee Association

DISCO’s Employee Association plans and holds several internal events with the purpose of improving the Quality of Relationships between employees.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, although these events were held in an online format, a total of 4,549 members joined the remote parties and video game events held in FY2022.
From FY2024, events such as beer parties, lunch cruises, and bowling tournaments, that were held before the COVID-19 pandemic were resumed, further strengthening the Quality of Relationships.
In addition, there is a subsidy system for the activities of the internal sports and hobby clubs that belong to the Employee Association. There are various types of clubs, such as the golf club, ski club, music club, photography club, and so on, and many employees participate in club activities across departments.
Also, when natural disasters such as heavy rains or earthquakes occur, the Employee Association raises donations to support disaster victims.